Page 23 of The Lost Art of Finding Where You Belong

Perian tried to actually think about it.

“So, um, the leather, like I said, and a hint of… burning, maybe. Smoke. Not in a bad way, but like there’s a fireplace nearby, something that will warm you on a cold winter’s night. It’s really appealing. I guess it’s probably because he controls fire. I suppose that might mean Cormal smells like that too, and all I can say is that it must not be as appealing on him.”

Really, perish the thought. “Um, what else? Well, he uses a soap that smells a bit like trees and the outdoors, so there’s a hint of that, too.”

Perian closed his eyes and tried to remember, thought of all the times they’d been pressed skin to skin, when his head had been tucked up against Brannal’s chest or shoulder. If he closed his eyes and inhaled, what did he smell?

“There’s something underlying it all, something that I don’t think smells like anything else. There’s a bit of sweat, the good male kind—I mean, because I like male sweat, nothing against female or nonbinary sweat. If he’s been drinking tea, which seems to be often, then there’ll be a hint of tea leaves, too. And maybe… books, I think. I bit of old books, parchment, and paper from when he’s been reading or working on reports. And maybe a bit of metal, if he’s been working out. Or maybe just because he has so many daggers and swords.”

All right, only one sword. But multiple daggers. He drew a deep breath and blew it out. “So, uh, yeah, that’s what Brannal smells like. Does that answer your question?”

The sound of snoring answered him, and Perian snorted withlaughter.

Even though he was still sad that Brannal wasn’t actually here, he also felt a bit closer to him.

Considering Nisal, he promptly gave up the idea of waking them and trying to get them back to their room since he didn’t know where it was. Instead, he just pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed up over their sleeping form. He hoped neither of them were going to wind up injured by any of Nisal’s weapons. He thought about trying to get some of them off, but he decided that trying to partially undress a drunk Mage Warrior was just not a good idea.

Perian crawled under the covers, burying his face back into the pillow that didn’t smell as much like Brannal now because Perian kept sleeping with it. But a hint of the scent was still there, and he inhaled deeply, laughed at himself, and let his eyes drift shut.

Chapter Five

In the morning, Perian woke in a tangle with something that was digging insistently into his hip, and after a very confused moment where nothing felt right and the body pressed up against him was definitely not the one he expected, he realized it was the hilt of Nisal’s sword, and he burst into laughter.

There was a groan behind him.

“Whazzit?”

“Sorry,” Perian said, “sorry. You’ve still got your sword on, and I thought you were, uh, excited to see me.”

There was a moment of silence, and then a giggle that turned into slightly hysterical laughter.

“I’m not actually sure why I’m laughing so hard at the idea that you could find me appealing,” Perian said, still laughing.

He had twisted around so he could see Nisal now.

“You’re pretty,” they said. “Not really my type.”

“What is your type, if you don’t mind me asking?”

They shrugged. “Physically, I tend to be attracted to the, uh, big and well-formed.”

“All the muscles,” Perian said with appreciation.

They sighed a happy sigh, nodding in agreement. “The ability to, uh, lift and move me easily is really appealing.”

Perian nodded.

“But,” Nisal continued, “as much as I’m attracted to that body type, at the end of the day, I want a good person, and it doesn’t really matter what they look like, male, female, nonbinary, well-muscled or not.”

Perian eyed them. “Am I supposed to be feeling really insulted?”

Nisal blinked at them, then their eyes went wide. “Oh, earth and air, no! You are a great person!”

This was said very vehemently, and Perian relaxed a little.

“Sorry, it’s still early o’clock after a lot of drinking,” they said, scrubbing at their face. “I was still trying to finish the thought. I definitely have what I’m attracted to superficially. But someone who looks like exactly what I want but doesn’t treat people well is not actually appealing at all.”

Perian nodded, understanding that.

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